The Resilient Clover

On October 26th, Werder Bremen traveled to challenge Fürth in an away game.

Fürth Club is located in the small town of Fürth in the Bavarian state, which covers only 65 square kilometers and has a population of only 110,000. It may not compare with major cities like Munich and Berlin, and even compared to Bremen, it seems quite small.

This season marks Fürth's debut in the Bundesliga, and for them, getting enough points to secure survival and remain on the highest platform of German football is the only goal for all members of the team.

However, achieving this goal seems a bit challenging. Prior to the ninth round of the league, Fürth had won one match, drawn two, and lost five out of eight matches, securing only 5 points and being tied for last place with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga standings.

Despite the team's poor performance, the fan base for Fürth is quite strong. Perhaps because it's their first time in the top league, the local fans in Fürth strongly support their team. The stadium has witnessed over 80% attendance at every match, and sometimes even exceeds 90%.

This particular match at the Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommerstadion, which can accommodate 18,000 spectators, saw a turnout of 17,000 fans, with an attendance rate exceeding 90%.

The Three-Leaf Clover fans proudly waved team flags and scarves, displaying various slogans and banners in full support of their team. Their passion for and dedication to the team deeply moved Lin. He thought to himself, if domestic football in his home country had such a strong community atmosphere and football culture, there would be no doubt that it could thrive.

Encouraged by the cheering fans, Fürth launched an aggressive attack on Werder Bremen from the start of the match.

Given their current bottom rank, they had nothing much to lose.

A win or a draw, even just a single point, could make all the difference in saving their season.

It seemed that the loud chanting and support from the home fans had an effect. In just eight minutes into the game, Fürth's forward, Edu, breached Werder Bremen's goal line.

This dream start completely ignited the atmosphere at the venue, as if the fans of the Three-Leaf Clover saw the dawn of victory. They were overjoyed, and their excitement and jubilation were evident.

The team was desperately in need of a win, and this precious win meant saving their lives!

However, their joy was short-lived. In the 42nd minute of the first half, following a breakthrough by Lin on the sideline, he made an exquisite long-range shot from outside the penalty area, equalizing the score to 1:1. Fürth's fans were left with only two of the expected three points.

At the moment of Lin's goal, the Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommerstadion seemed to fall into complete silence, as if someone had turned off the sound altogether. The Three-Leaf Clover fans seemed unable to accept this reality, and some of the more fragile-hearted ones even burst into tears.

Seeing the opponent's fans so disheartened, Lin also lost his mood to celebrate.

Fürth's strength was indeed at the bottom level, and their players could only be considered to be at the level of the second division, unlikely to establish themselves in the Bundesliga.

Simply holding on for so long in the first half was already quite surprising. If it were not for the early goal at the beginning of the match boosting their morale and keeping them in a state of excitement.

With Werder Bremen's attacking prowess, they could have easily scored at least two goals in the first half.

After a brief pause, Fürth's fans wiped away their tears and continued to wave their flags and sing their team's anthem.

The team had not been relegated yet, and there were many rounds left in the league. As long as they persisted, there would still be hope!

In the second half, Werder Bremen launched strong offensives. De Bruyne and Lin scored in the 55th and 68th minutes, respectively.

With a score of 3:1, time was running out for Fürth.

After Lin scored the third goal, the relieved look on coach Schaaf's face on the sideline was evident. He had been worried that Lin's performance might be affected after the recent incident at Fritz's home. But now, it seemed like he had worried unnecessarily.

With the lead, the opponent's attacks had lost their coordination, and their defense was like a headless fly, running amok. Schaaf did not believe the opponent could turn the game around, so he began making substitutions. Lin, Elia, and Fritz were successively substituted.

De Bruyne was in great form recently, and because he asked to stay on the field, Schaaf didn't include him in the substitutions.

In the later stages of the game, Felt still couldn't find a way to break through Werder Bremen's goal.

It was De Bruyne who scored another goal in the final moments, completing a brace and helping Werder Bremen secure a 4-1 away victory against Felt.

The trefoil fans were very upset. Before Lin scored in the first half, they thought the team could secure their second win of the season.

However, the final result was heartbreaking, yet they didn't blame the team or the players.

Even when the team was trailing by a large margin, the fans stayed put, continuously singing the team chant to cheer them on.

With fans like these, even if the trefoil gets relegated, they might be able to rise again in the future, right?

After this victory, Werder Bremen reached 18 points, but since Schalke 04 also won, their ranking remained unchanged at fourth place.

This round saw a major upset, with Bayern Munich, unbeaten in eight games, losing 2-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen, while this season's dark horse Eintracht Frankfurt lost away to Stuttgart.

The losses of the top two teams resulted in some changes in the points table.

Bayern Munich topped the table with 22 points, Schalke 04 climbed to second place with 20 points, surpassing Frankfurt.

Eintracht Frankfurt currently sits third with 19 points, while Werder Bremen, one point below them, is in fourth place.

Four days later, the second round of the German Cup began.

In this round, Werder Bremen hosted their previous league opponent, Augsburg.

Over 20 days ago, Werder Bremen left Augsburg's field in disappointment.

In that match, Lin was out due to injury, and a depleted Werder Bremen was passive throughout, conceding three goals and setting a record for the most goals conceded in a single game this season.

Determined to avenge that defeat, Werder Bremen came out strong in this game, scoring six goals against Augsburg at the Weser Stadium, winning 6-2 and knocking them out of the tournament.

In this game, Lin provided two assists and scored a goal before being substituted in the 65th minute.

De Bruyne played the full match again, scoring a goal and providing three assists, leading the assist charts in the German Cup.

After advancing to the third round, the mood at Werder Bremen was upbeat.

However, their joy was short-lived. In the subsequent draw for the third round of the German Cup, Werder Bremen's luck wasn't favorable.

They drew the Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich – the third time they've faced them this season.

"Oh no, why do we always end up against Bayern? Why always Bayern!" exclaimed Werder Bremen's players.

Even though they had a better record against Bayern this season, the German Cup is highly valuable, and every club desires the prestigious trophy.

Hence, Bayern wouldn't easily give up on the German Cup. Replicating their previous upset victory seemed very challenging.

After the draw results, few outsiders favored Werder Bremen. Despite their previous draw against Bayern at home, occasional upsets didn't change the objective gap between the teams.

However, Werder Bremen didn't give up early just because of the strong opponent, especially after the head coach and club manager announced their goal for the season: to qualify for European competitions.

Winning the German Cup would secure a spot in Europe, essentially achieving their objective ahead of schedule! Moreover, facing Bayern early meant they wouldn't meet them in future matches.

As a result, towards the end of the league, they wouldn't have to choose between prioritizing league matches over tough cup fixtures.

Five days later, in the 10th round of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen defeated Mainz 05 at home with a score of 2-1, securing a three-game winning streak.

Due to exerting much energy in the Champions League, Schalke 04 suffered a surprising loss to Hoffenheim, while Frankfurt was held to a draw at home by courageous Felt.

After this victory, Werder Bremen climbed to second place with 21 points on the points table.

They trailed Bayern Munich, the leaders, by four points. While the gap seemed manageable in two matches, expecting Bayern to lose consecutively was quite unlikely.

On November 8th, the fourth round of the Champions League group stage began.

In this round, Bayern Munich hosted the challenge from the French Lille at home.

To observe Bayern Munich's competitive state better, Werder Bremen's coach Schaaf personally went to the Allianz Arena to watch the match.

 In this game, Bayern Munich showed their terrifying ability to create a disaster. In the first half, the score was already 5:0 at just 33 minutes into the game! 

Bayern Munich scored five goals in the 5th, 18th, 23rd, 28th, and 33rd minutes through Schweinsteiger, Pizarro, and Barlmonte.

Werder Bremen's all-time top scorer, the 34-year-old Pizarro, scored three goals, completing a hat-trick.

Seeing this, Schaaf furrowed his brow.

Bayern has become even stronger than before. Their attack has become more powerful, their defensive level has improved, and they have made significant progress on both ends of the game!

It seems really difficult to beat this kind of Bayern!